SEOUL — North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile Thursday, Seoul’s navy mentioned, Pyongyang’s newest present of pressure simply days earlier than South Korea and the United States kick off main joint navy workouts.
Relations between the 2 Koreas are at considered one of their worst factors in many years, with the nuclear-armed North conducting ever extra provocative banned weapons exams as Seoul moved to ramp up safety cooperation with Washington in response.
Last yr, Kim Jong Un’s regime declared North Korea an “irreversible” nuclear energy and vowed to exponentially improve weapons manufacturing, together with tactical nuclear weapons, because the US seems to be to maneuver extra belongings to the area to defend ally Seoul.
Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff mentioned that it “detected the launch of one short range ballistic missile from the North’s western port city of Nampo at 6:20 p.m. (0920 GMT).”
“Our military maintains a full readiness posture while closely cooperating with the US as we have strengthened surveillance and vigilance,” it added.
North Korea has lengthy claimed its nuclear weapons and missile packages are for self-defense, and has bristled over US-South Korea navy workouts, describing them as rehearsals for an invasion.
Earlier this week, North Korea accused the US of “intentionally” ramping up tensions, and Kim’s highly effective sister warned that if the US had been to intercept considered one of Pyongyang’s missile exams, it will be seen as a “clear declaration of war.”
‘Freedom Shield’
After talks between Kim and then-US president Donald Trump collapsed in 2019, diplomacy has stalled and the North has doubled down on navy growth.
South Korea’s hawkish President Yoon Suk Yeol has moved to spice up diplomatic ties and safety cooperation with Tokyo and Washington in response to rising threats from Pyongyang.
US President Joe Biden will host Yoon for a state go to on April 26, and the South Korean chief can even go to Tokyo subsequent week, his workplace mentioned.
This month, the US and South Korean militaries will maintain their largest joint drills in 5 years.
Ahead of these workouts, named “Freedom Shield” and scheduled for a minimum of 10 days beginning March 13, the allies held air drills this week that includes a nuclear-capable US B-52 heavy bomber.
“This is likely only the beginning of a series of provocative tests by North Korea,” mentioned Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.
“Pyongyang is poised to respond aggressively to major US-South Korea defense exercises, as well as to President Yoon’s upcoming summits with [Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and US President Joe Biden],” he mentioned.
“The Kim regime may order missile firings of longer ranges, attempt a spy satellite launch, demonstrate a solid-fuel engine, and perhaps even conduct a nuclear test.”
North Korea has framed its missile exams and navy drills as justified countermeasures following US-South Korea drills.
Last week, it referred to as on the United Nations to induce a halt to those workouts, and reiterated that its nuclear weapons ensured the steadiness of energy within the area. — Agence France-Presse
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
